Step One....almost check!

I have one more flight until I arrive in Cochabamba. I have a 4 hour layover, so I have some time to kill. :)

I am sitting in a tiny airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. After being very American and using Spanglish to buy my ticket to Cochabamba, I tried to use the pay phone to contact the driver for the hospital. Unfortunately the call didn't go through, but I did learn that in Bolivia the rings are more like the unavailable beeps in America. It was very confusing. Thankfully, I was able to email everyone.

Traveling has been so fun!! On the way to Miami, I sat next to a woman and we talked for almost the whole flight. Then, I met a girl named Jennifer while waiting for my flight to La Paz. She is a pediatric ICU nurse and also works for Samaritan's Purse as a transport nurse for children with cardiac diseases. She talked to me about medical missions and showed me incredible photos of her time in Uganda helping fix cleft lips. I also met several church groups, students working in Cochabamba, and an old Bolivian lady who advised me on what to eat and not eat in Bolivia. God is so good! I prayed for a friend on the trip, and he has already given me several!

Here are some photos I have taken!

My new friend, Jennifer! She has traveled around the world and was so helpful as I asked her tons of questions about medical missions.

The airport was at such a high altitude, several of the passengers had to use and oxygen tank! 

La Paz from the airplane.

La Paz, again. 

These mountains are amazing!

All of the homes by the airport in La Paz (biggest city in Bolivia). 

We went from flat to hilly really fast! 

And Santa Cruz was all green. 

"Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid. 

The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation."

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted. 

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world. 

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

 for great is the Holy One of Israel among."

-Psalm 12

Praises: 

• That God has brought me safely thus far.
• That I have been able to make friends and enjoy my flight.
• That there are so many Christians doing great things. On the flight to Bolivia I was surrounded by medical, teaching and relief teams or volunteers. People reading the Bible and loving one another. It was so encouraging- I was traveling with brother's and sisters in Christ. 
• A God who created Bolivia. It is so beautiful, those photos don't even begin to do it justice. 
• A God who loves each and every one of these Bolivians. He loves them so much, even if they live humble lives farming in rural Bolivia. He wants them and loves them. 

Prayer Requests:

• Energy. I couldn't sleep on the plane and so I haven't slept one wink in the last 24 hours. I feel awesome, but I know I will be crashing pretty soon. 
• For Jennifer and her patient who has tetralogy of fallot (a really serious heart condition). That she would have energy to love the family and that the surgery would go well. 
• For Christine, one of the ladies I sat next to on the flight, and her mom. Her mom is unconscious and has seizures and they can't figure out why. I told her I would pray for her, so the more the merrier!!
• My spanish. The more time I spend here, the more I realize I am NOT very good at languages. 
• The people I meet. That they would be open to the gospel message and that God would work through me. 
• A safe flight to Cochabamba! 

¡Adios! ¡Gracias por sus oraciones!

Thankful

As my trip to Bolivia rapidly approaches, I wanted to take some time to reflect on God's provision. So many emotions are circling through my mind, but the biggest right now is thankfulness. I am so thankful for God's providence. His loving and grace-filled hand has touched every aspect of this trip.

I am so thankful for my parents. Their counsel and willingness to let me travel to Bolivia have been such a blessing to me. My mom and dad have encouraged me when I had doubts about the trip. They counseled me with vaccines, Visa information, traveling and short-term missions preparation. My parents show me Christ and I praise God for them.

I am so thankful for the Bells. I would not be able to go to Bolivia without their hospitality and kindness. They opened up their home to me with open arms and fed, loved and cared for me in-between school getting out and Bolivia. I was so burnt out from school but having a place to relax and rest means the world to me. Kathleen is an incredible friend. She was willing to drive me all around town so that I could finish up all the errands I needed to do for Bolivia. Over the past couple days we have run, hiked, baked, slept, and watched a ton of movies. The Bells have been such a blessing to me.

P.S. Mrs. Bell is an incredible cook, especially her artichokes. And I am not being sarcastic. :)

I am so thankful for the Harabedians. They have been such a blessing in my life this year. From Mrs. Haradbedian bringing my roommates and I food to Elyse driving me to the airport- they are the best. They always make me feel at home and have been a great encouragement to me as I prepare for Bolivia. Elyse will be waking up early to drive me to the airport. Now, I know for most people 7:30 is not too early- but Elyse is a night owl so I know this is a big sacrifice for her. Even though she could have easily slept in, she is willing to drive me to LAX. Elyse, I am so thankful for you and your family.

I am so thankful for my donors. I wish I could personally thank all of you, but I don't know if that is allowed without your permission. But, THANK YOU (you all know who you are). :) To those who wrote checks, prayed, fed me, encouraged and helped me get to Bolivia-- your donations to my trip has shown me the love of Christ. I will be praying for you in the months ahead, thanking God for your generosity. Thank you for using your gifts to further God's kingdom.

I am so thankful for Bethany Community Church. Man, I love this church. They have been a huge blessing in my walk with Christ and have really shown me what the church is meant to be. In one of my classes this year we learned that the church is to be a 'Christ centered missional community'. That is what BCC is. They donated to my trip and are praying for my time in Bolivia. Most of my donors are people that go to my church. Their generosity and love is something I am so thankful for.

I am so thankful for Daniel White. He is the volunteer coordinator for Hospitals of Hope. I probably have sent him 1 million emails asking random and (most of the time) stupid questions. You know what? He graciously responds and answers all my concerns. I would not be able to go to Bolivia without his handwork. I am so grateful for all of the work that he has done to allow me to go.

I am so thankful for Rachel Longton. Rachel and I haven't met yet, but she has already been a huge blessing to me. After my church donated to my trip, one of the ladies on the missions board emailed about another person who had served with Hospitals of Hope. I was ecstatic because I hadn't talked to anyone who had worked with HOH before. Rachel not only is a nurse, but she is from Washington and went to Whitworth. We started emailing and she helped explain more of what Cochabamba is like as well as how to prepare. She was very wise in telling me that the best way to prepare for missions is to abide in Christ. She had encouraged me and we will be getting together once a week while I am in Bolivia. I am sure I will do another post on Rachel sometime soon, but I am so thankful for her friendship and I am excited to get to know her more as time goes on. 

I am so thankful for Global Studies (a class I took this semester at Biola). This class came at the perfect time. It was an introduction to missions and what it means to be a 'global Christian.' I learned that missions is about worship, that short-term missions do have a place in God's kingdom and that only when humans live in God's story do they find real purpose. God knew that this was the class I needed to take before Bolivia as it has prepared me for all things STM. Praise God!

As I go off into the great unknown, I am comforted by the fact that I have incredible people praying and supporting me. If nothing else, God has shown me the power of community and the church through my preparation for Bolivia. I have seen the hand of God work in many ways- big and small. Thank you to everyone who has prayed and continues to pray for this trip.

"So What Will You Be Doing In Bolivia?"

Here is a specific summary of what I will be doing in Bolivia. I will be giving updates while in Bolivia, but here is the hospitals summary of what an average day looks like. I copy and pasted this from their website, so it is written in second person. :)  

An Average Work Day and Week
Patient consults begin after rounds and go until noon. Volunteers will primarily shadow during this time. The longer you spend developing relationships with our doctors and the more enthusiasm you show for learning, the more they will let you do. Bolivia is a relationship-based society, and your involvement will depend on your willingness to invest in relationships, to ask questions, and to help in any area you can.

Volunteers can also help in the hospital coffee shop, provide administrative support, spend time with patients internalized in the hospital, or share their testimony with patients in the hospital waiting room.
Outside of the hospital, volunteers will help at a variety of other ministries, including orphanages, a school for the deaf, and other hospitals and clinics. We also complete regular outreach clinics in the surrounding communities, going to or- phanages or schools to do checkups on the children.

On Saturday, volunteers often have an opportunity to do some street witnessing in the Principal Plaza of Cochabamba where another Christian organization will be bathing & washing the hair of street children. 

Each week, the Guest Hosts plan a variety of activities for the volunteers, providing opportunities for sightseeing, shop- ping, and building relationships with Bolivians. Most weeks will have very similar activities although the activities them- selves may vary. We ask that you participate in all planned activities. For those who stay for a number of weeks, some activities will not be required, such as sight-seeing of the same location multiple times.

If you wish to take part in activities that are not planned by the Guest House Host, please ask for permission first, to be sure that your plans do not conflict with other plans and do not go against Bolivian cultural norms.

Guests are expected to help with meal preparation as well as set up and clean up of meals. For larger groups, volunteers will be placed on rotating teams.

Free time can be used to check Internet or make phone calls from Internet Cafés. Free time can also be used for naps, quiet time/devotions, fellowship, games, etc.


Other activities may be added depending on the teams, time, and finances of each group. Attending a local soccer game may be an option depending on the schedule. Some teams may plan on taking some sightseeing trips outside of Cochabamba.

FULLY FUNDED!

Your money will go to people being physically and spiritually healed!

I am FULLY funded! Hooray! God really provides.

Within three weeks of sending all my support letters out, I was about 3/4's funded. After that, money slowly trickled in and now I am funded. Thank you to everyone who donated. Your generosity is so encouraging to me. I could not go without your help. Your money will be used to build God's kingdom. Each donor has blessed me in so many ways, so THANK YOU!

If you are interested in donating to Hospitals Of Hope, please click here.
They are in desperate need of money to pay for a shipping container filled with medical supplies that was held by the Bolivian government. If you would like to learn more about this, please click here.

How To Pray For My Trip

Please pray for.... 

Personal:
Strength, energy, health, formation of good friendships, having plenty of opportunity for time in the Word, growing in my faith, opportunities to share my testimony, and safety in travel.  I will be flying alone and am anxious about that, so please pray for no 'hiccups' along the way and that I can get my Visa without any problems. For a friend that I can bond with while in Bolivia. 

Those I’m Serving:
That the Holy Spirit would provide open hearts, for opportunities to share with the nationals, for an openness to the gospel, provision of their needs. Healing for those that are sick. An intentional interest in the truth for those that don't know the hope of Christ. That physical needs would be met to all that enter the hospitals doors. 

Hospitals of Hope:
Financial blessing as they are having a tough year. For the doctors and nurses already serving at the hospital, that they would find strength and health as they work. For Daniel White (the volunteer coordinator), the he would know the importance of his job and that he would be blessed. 

2.5 Weeks!

In exactly 2.5 weeks I will be leaving for Bolivia.

This week, it started to hit me: 

I have never left this country.

I am traveling alone. 

I will be living in a foreign country. 

I don't know exactly what I will be doing. 

I am still a teenager. 

...Am I crazy? 

The answer: No, my God is CRAZY faithful! 

I question Bolivia and God quickly sweeps them away with reminders of His faithfulness. 

To anyone who has questioned my sanity as I volunteer in Bolivia, here is some comfort (this is just as much for me as it is for you!): 

"Where can I go from your spirit? 

Where can I flee from your presence? 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 

If I rise on the wings of dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day, 

for darkness is as light to you." 

-Psalm 139:7-12

And, some inspiration from Pinterest: 

"He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carriers them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young"

-Isaiah 40:11

"Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one,

and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing."

-Isaiah 40:26

After having a nice long conversation with my mom, I believe that my feelings are results of Satan attacking me. He is trying to discourage me and turn my mind from the things that really matter: glorifying God. So yes, I may not be able to perform incredible surgeries or be able to have a flawless conversation with someone in Spanish, but my God uses the weak and foolish. I don't know what God has in store for me but I have faith that He wants me in Bolivia and will use me where He wants. All I can say is "Send me!" and He will take care of the rest.

I would deeply appreciate prayer during the next couple weeks. I have finals and am feeling very burnt out. Pray that my strength would be renewed and that God would give me strength to fight untruthful ideas that Satan is putting in my head.